FOSSEN is the brainchild of Brooklyn-based independent artist Ruslan Ozerin.
The project pulls influences from electronic, trance, hyperpop, darkwave and experimental music to create a fresh vision of emotive and euphoric electronic music that transports you to a sonically immersive world.
I caught up with Ruslan to talk about his early musical experiences, how he started composing and the making of his latest singles “Illuminate” and “Influx” which you can check out here.
CMM-What was the first music that really made an impact on you as a kid and what artist or band did you enjoy the most?
Ruslan-When I was 10, I got a Walkman CD player for my birthday. It came bundled with Benny Benassi’s album Pumphonia on a CD, which was not even the intended gift, but it ended up shaping my music taste for life. Before that CD I had never heard music so euphoric and electric. It felt futuristic and emotional at the same time. That album became an escape for me during a turbulent time in my life. I would put the headphones on and disappear into that world of sonic tension and release. With my project FOSSEN, I am chasing that similar feeling – electrifying tension and emotional euphoria that makes you want to move physically and emotionally.
CMM-How did you start writing songs and developing your own sound?
Ruslan-Last summer I was laid off from my office job. After the initial shock, I realized I finally had more free time. I had been thinking for years about producing electronic music and used this chance. For a long time, I had been mentally collecting elements from different songs and their moods, textures, emotional arcs. Euphoric, dreamy, magical, tense, high energy. Long meditative build-ups that explode into a release. Atmospheric intros and cinematic outros. All of which I want to capture in my music. A big inspiration was TDJ’s trance project SPF Infini, where underground artists create euphoric and emotional DJ mixes without commercial pressure. There is creative freedom and sincerity. Seeing that made me think that I can create my sonic landscapes too with my own flavor of dreaminess and tension. So I started and cannot stop. Music production, even though meticulous and complicated, is like therapy. And it genuinely makes me happy to progress and get closer to my true vision.
CMM-You recently released two new singles “Illuminate” and “Influx”. What was the writing and recording process like for those and were there any particular pieces of gear you used to get the sound you were looking for?
Ruslan-Just before these singles, I released a 4-track EP that I see as a point zero with four different electronic moods I want to continue refining. Then, I wanted to work on individual singles. Illuminate was inspired by the record-breaking snowfall in New York and crisp winter walks in the park at the time. I wanted it to feel light, airy, and cold, almost like a frozen breath in the air. All my music is produced digitally in Ableton, and I shaped the atmosphere using the Valhalla FutureVerb reverb plugin to create a shimmering, spacious texture that feels like snow reflecting light. In Flux was a counterreaction, even the single cover is color-inverted. I wanted something darker, faster, and heavier. The key elements are vocal glitch chopping, pitch modulation, heavy spatial reverb, and dynamic panning using ShaperBox to create a floating, slightly destabilized feeling. Where Illuminate breathes, In Flux pulses. Together they show the contrast I love exploring in my music – softness and intensity living in the same world.
CMM-If you could compose a score for any film director, who would it be and what would the film be about?
Ruslan-If I could, I would do a score for Aidan Zamiri, who just had his directorial debut with The Moment. He is also a photographer who worked with some of my favorite musicians like Charli XCX and Caroline Polachek capturing their worlds in a dreamy, nostalgic and fashionable way that really resonates with me visually. The film would be a slightly surreal story about a beginner electronic producer who suddenly blows up and has to navigate the chaos of the music industry and their first live shows. It would blend humor and anxiety, imposter syndrome, awkward moments, and euphoric crowd reactions to create a modern take on the 2000s fame fantasy seen through the lens of the modern digital age.
CMM-Anything coming up?
Ruslan-I am already working on my next single experimenting more with vocal manipulation and atmosphere, and it is going to be a club banger. For now, my only venue is my home studio, and I am focused on sharpening my sound and vision. The possibilities are endless. I am in this because I genuinely love electronic music, the emotional architecture of it, the way tension and release can change your state. I take it one step at a time, and the rest will follow.
